COL Rockies vs. SD Padres

The Colorado Rockies (3-10) will face the San Diego Padres (11-3) on Sunday in the concluding match-up of a three-game National League West series.

The San Diego Padres are 12-3 this season, positioning them at the top of the NL West standings. They're coming off a 2-0 victory at home against the Rockies, for their third consecutive win. They are 5-1 in their last 6 games.

This season, the team boasts a batting average of .279, an on-base percentage (OBP) of .341, and a slugging percentage of .420. San Diego’s pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 2.86 and a WHIP of 1.09. 

Michael King (R) is set to pitch for the Padres. This season, he holds a 2-0 record, accompanied by a 4.05 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.

The Colorado Rockies are 3-10 this season, placing them last in the NL West and have won just 1 of their last 5 games. The Rockies have a batting average of .226 this season, with an on-base percentage (OBP) of .293 and a slugging percentage of .348. The pitching staff has a 4.91 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

Kyle Freeland (L) will take the mound for the Rockies, and while he has a 0-2 record, he has a 3.79 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. In his only start against the Padres last season, he gave up 5 runs in 6.1 innings of work, as the Rockies lost 1-7.

The San Diego Padres look really good right now across all aspects of the game. Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., with a 1.029 OPS and 12 runs, is one of the most impressive hitters in the majors at the moment, haunting opposing pitchers at the top of the lineup.

Michael King has been pitching exceptionally well this season, whereas Kyle Freeland is experiencing some difficulties. The offensive capabilities of these teams are like night and day, with the Rockies ranking 29th in baseball, posting a .520 team OPS on the road, while the Padres rank seventh with a .829 team OPS in their home games this year.

The same could be said about the bullpens, with Colorado sitting 29th with a 6.44 reliever ERA, while San Diego leads the majors with a 1.59 bullpen ERA.

The Rockies just can't score runs as the visiting team in recent years, and this pattern has continued this season. The Rockies bats have produced exactly 0 runs in this series and just can't get a hit with runners in scoring position if their salaries depended on it.

Freeland has performed well in his three starts but has yet to see any positive results from it. Pitching on the road against a hot team is not going to improve his situation in my opinion.

King was credited a win in his last start and benefits from such a stronger lineup it's almost not even fair. San Diego scored eight runs in the series opener and has the best bullpen in baseball, which is why I love them to hold the lead here.

I expect the Colorado bats to remain silent, and San Diego to stay hot. Take the San Diego Padres on the run line here.